Creffield and the Holy Rollers made page one headlines from 1903 to 1907. When I was researching Holy Rollers: Murder and Madness in Oregon’s Love Cult I spent months transcribing hundreds of articles. I’m not sure why I was so obsessive. Maybe it was my way of immersing my self into a cult without joining one. Anyway, I’m posting them all for those who are really interested in the story, or are interested the history of journalism, or are interested in how a scandalous story played out in the "media" in a by gone era. Since I no doubt made typos and unconsciously corrected papers' typos, these web pages should not be cited in anything serious (e.g. your dissertation). For such projects they should only be used as starting points and you should refer to the original sources. If you want a shorter version of the story, buy my book. Enjoy.
November 20, 1906: Mrs. Creffield Killed Herself with Poison!
HEADLINES IN
PAPERS FOR THE SAME ARTICLE
Seattle Daily Times 11/20/1906 p1
Mrs. Creffield Killed Herself with Poison!
Maud Creffield Died By Her Own Hand
Widow of Holy Roller Leader Committed Suicide by
Taking Strychnine in Her Cell in the County Jail.
Chemical Analysis Of Stomach Shows Poison
Jail Officers Say Drug Could Not Have Reached Her
Except Through Visitors Who Had Called to See Her.
Corvallis Times 11/23/1906 p1
Died From Poison
Strychnine Found In Mrs. Creffield’s Stomach.
Esther Mitchell Declares Her Cell Mate Did Not Commit
Suicide.
Coroner Accepts the Report of the Commission.
AN ABRIDGED VERSION OF THE
SAME ARTICLE ALSO APPEARED IN
Daily Oregon Statesman (Salem) 11/21/1906 p1
Case of Suicide
Chemists Find Strychnine Cause Death Of Mrs. Maud
Creffield,
Analysis of Contents of Dead Woman’s Stomach Reveals
More Than Enough Poison to Cause Death--Cousin Last Visitor Before Suicide.
Maud Creffield committed
suicide! Her sudden death in the county jail last Friday
night was caused by strychnine poisoning. That fact was positively
determined this afternoon when Osseward & Rubenstein, chemists, who
analyzed the stomach of the woman, made their formal report to Coroner Frank M.
Carroll, who immediately signed the death certificate assigning the cause of the demise as suicide by strychnine poisoning.
An exceedingly careful
analysis of the stomach was made under the personal direction of Dr. Carroll,
and the completion of that test today showed beyond all question of doubt the
presence of strychnine, one of the most effective poisons known to chemists. Just
in what form it was taken the chemists are unable to say, but it is the opinion
of Dr. Carroll that the crystallized form was used.
The finding of the
strychnine confirms the original opinion of Dr. Carroll that some irritant in
the stomach was responsible for the congestion at the base of the brain that
brought on convulsions. There was proof at the autopsy that the woman had
bitten her tongue, this having occurred as the convulsion from the poison took
hold of her. The statement from Esther Mitchell that Maud Creffield suddenly
became ill and instantly straightened out, her muscles then expanding and
afterward contracting, goes to bear out the symptoms now proved by the
analysis.
JAILERS MAKE SEARCH
At the county jail this
afternoon it was stated that immediately after the death of Mrs. Creffield the
closest search of her cell was made to see if any means could be found by which
she could have ended her life, and that search after search was made, and
nothing was found. So far as the jailers can remember, Mrs. Creffield had no
visitors on Friday. The day before, however, a cousin, Miss Laveney (sic) of Seattle, visited her. Miss Laveney, the
officers believe, was the last person with Mrs. Creffield except the jailers
and the prisoners. It may have been possible, they admit, that a visitor gave
her the strychnine many days before the day of death.
Sheriff Smith was not at his
office this afternoon. His chief deputy, Ed Drew, said the finding of the
chemists was a total surprise to him, but that he did not care at this time to
make any further public statement than that issued on the morning following the
woman’s death, when the sheriff said he could not believe that death was caused
by suicide.
“The finding of the poison
in the stomach proves conclusively that Mrs. Creffield did not die of natural
causes,” said Coroner Carroll this afternoon. “There can be no further question
about her suicide for the analysis proves it positively. How the woman got the
drug, is of course unknown to me, but I do believe death was by suicide, and
shall officially find death from that cause.
HAD THOUGHT OF SUICIDE
The discovery that Mrs.
Creffield came to her death by suicide justifies in a remarkable way the statements
published in The Sunday Times made by Dr. Kenneth Turner, who was chairman of
the court commission which recently examined into the sanity of the woman. Dr.
Turner stated that in his physical examination, less than two months ago, he
found every organ in Mrs. Creffield’s body in healthy condition that made the
development of any fatal disease in such a short period exceedingly improbable.
Continuing, Dr. Turner said:
As to the suicide theory, I
have not ventured even to form an opinion. I do not know. I can’t satisfy my
own mind. During the hearing, the woman admitted that she had often considered
committing suicide. In despondent moments she said that the thought had often
come to her. She said that she would have killed herself had she not been
commanded by a voice from Heaven not to yield to the thought. If she heard the
voice of her husband calling to her to commit suicide, I would not be at all
surprised if she did.
“When I read the report of
Mrs. Creffield’s death, the first thought that occurred to me was, ‘How long
will it be before Esther Mitchell commits suicide.”
Mrs. Creffield’s body was
buried yesterday afternoon in Lakeview Cemetery in a lot purchased by her
father, O. V. Hurt. Tomorrow the body of her husband will be disinterred and
laid beside that of his wife.
ESTHER MITCHELL DENIES IT
Esther Mitchell this
afternoon emphatically declares her belief that Maud Creffield had not
committed suicide and insisted that she was so intimate with Mrs. Creffield,
that she would have known about it if the Holy Roller’s widow planned self
destruction.
“Maud never took poison,”
declared Esther Mitchell. “We were very intimate and knew each other’s
innermost secrets. If Maud had planned to take poison, I certainly would have
known about it, and she never told me anything of it.
“Maud Creffield believed
suicide was cowardly and always insisted that she could not take her life. I do
not believe that she could have changed her views.
“It would have been
impossible for Maud to have taken poison without my knowing it unless she did
it that night when she went out to take a bath. She was gone only a few
minutes, and this was the only time she was out of my sight. She certainly did
not take the poison when I was around.”
MRS. LEVINS’ STATEMENT
May Hurt, sister of Mrs.
Creffield, and Mrs. Levins, called at the jail this afternoon to see Esther
Mitchell. Mrs. Levins had seen Mrs. Creffield the afternoon before she died.
“I saw Mrs. Creffield, but
certainly I did not bring her any poison,” said Mrs. Levins. “Maud Creffield
did not want poison. We had talked several times of suicide and Mrs. Creffield
always said that self-destruction was cowardly. But for the fact that it was
cowardly and that God had forbidden her to commit suicide, Mrs. Creffield
frequently said she would like to kill herself, for she had no desire to live. But
she always told me that it was her duty to live and meet whatever punishment
was given her, and declared she was going to do it.”
Jail officers say Mrs.
Levins and the parents of Mrs. Creffield are the only persons who could have
smuggled in the strychnine, and they discredit the findings of the physicians. Chief
Deputy Sheriff Drew declares that every precaution was taken to prevent Maud
Creffield’s death.

Alana Crow and David Poland
as Sarah & O.V. Hurt
Seattle Star 11/20/1906 p1
Maud Creffield Died By Her Own Hand
Analysis of Contents of the Stomach Shows the
Presence of Strychnine in Sufficient Quantity to Cause Instant Death--Coroner
Carroll Will Certify That Woman Took Her Own Life.
Strychnine in sufficient
quantities to have caused instant death has been found
in the stomach of Mrs. Maud Creffield.
In view of the finding a
verdict of suicide is to be returned by the coroner, probably today.
The
presence of the poison in Mrs. Creffield’s stomach was determined by Chemists Osseward
and Rubenstein, who were engaged by Coroner Carroll to make the chemical
analysis.
Chemists Osseward and
Rubenstein made their report in writing, and in official form, although their
investigation is not yet entirely complete.
It is believed that when the
analysis is entirely complete that enough of the poison will have been found in
Mrs. Creffield’s stomach to have caused the death of
at least three persons.
SURPRISED THE CORONER
The findings of the chemists
came as a surprise to the coroner, who at the time of Mrs. Creffield’s death in
her cell at the county jail declared it his belief that she died of heart
failure.
This story was shattered
somewhat when, at the post mortem examination, as told exclusively in The Star,
the heart was found in good condition, and the indications of the suicide
became more pronounced.
In view of the results of
the analytical investigations it is now believed by the police that Esther
Mitchell, who murdered her brother, knew all the while that it was a case of suicide.
It is even believed from the
intimacy that existed between the two women, that Mrs. Creffield told the
Mitchell girl of her desperate intention, and that the girl’s horrified
expressions of grief as she held the dying woman’s head in her lap were merely
the utterings of a consummate actress.
ESTHER MITCHELL PLEADS
IGNORANCE
Esther Mitchell, on the
other hand however insisted when seen at the county jail this afternoon that
she did not know that Mrs. Creffield killed herself, and she even went so far
as to state that she does not believe it now.
“Mrs. Creffield often told
me that she wanted to die, but I do not believe that she killed herself.
“She was not afraid of the
law. I swear to God that she never told me she was going to kill herself. I would
have prevented her.”
Despite the girl’s denials
the police do not believe her, and she will be doubly watched to prevent her
from also committing suicide
“The theory of suicide is
correct,” said Prosecuting Attorney Kenneth Mackintosh to a Star reporter this
afternoon. “I shall not order an investigation. That must be
ordered by Sheriff Smith. If he needs any assistance, of course my
services will be donated.
JOHN F. MILLER DOUBTS IT
Assistant Prosecuting
Attorney Miller, who was actively engaged in the case against Mrs. Creffield,
does not look with favor on the suicide theory.
“I do not believe that Mrs.
Creffield took poison,” he said. “If she did why didn’t Esther Mitchell? The
two were boon (sic) companions.”
“If Mrs. Creffield did take
poison, as the coroner’s autopsy intimates, then it must have been given to her
the day before she died. Mrs. Levins, Mrs. Creffield’s cousin, who lives on
Pike St., was the last relative to visit her. She was with Mrs. Creffield the
day before she died, which was last Thursday.
BROTHER NOT INTERESTED
Frank Hurt, brother of Mrs.
Creffield, when seen this afternoon by a Star reporter and informed of the
probable suicide of his sister, stated that he had nothing to say. He appeared
to take no interest in the report one way or the
other.
When asked to explain how it
was possible for poison to be smuggled into Mrs. Creffield’s cell, if it was
smuggled, Jailer Larson declared this afternoon that it was as great a mystery
to him as to anybody else.
“We are very careful about
such things,” he said, “and persons who are liable to kill themselves, as well
as everyone else, is closely watched all the time they are here.
“Mrs. Creffield’s cell was
searched only a few days ago, and we are certain there was no poison concealed
anywhere at the time.
Jailer Larsen insisted that
every package coming into the jail is closely watched, but this is contrary to
what daily visitors to the jail have observed.
HEADLINES IN
PAPERS FOR THE SAME ARTICLE
Oregon Daily Journal (Portland) 11/20/1906
Creffield’s Widow Died From
Poison
Corvallis Gazette 11/23/1906 p1
It Was Poison
Autopsy Shows Stomach of Dead Woman Contained Evidence
of Murder or Suicide
Probably Killed Herself to Prevent Trial, as She Had
Often Threatened to Do in Past--Esther Mitchell Supposed to Have Known Cause of
Death.
(Special Dispatch to The
Journal)
Seattle, Wash., Nov. 20.-- The coroner’s physicians who analyzed the stomach of
Mrs. Maud Creffield, the widow of the late Edmund “Joshua” Creffield, the Holy
Roller leader, reported this afternoon that enough poison was found in the
stomach of the dead woman to kill several persons. It is therefore evident that
the woman was either murdered or committed suicide, probably the latter.
Mrs. Creffield was the
daughter of O. V. Hurt of Corvallis. At the time of her death she was in prison
with Esther Mitchell, both charged with the murder of Esther’s brother, George
Mitchell, who was killed by his sister in revenge for the murder of Creffield. She
died suddenly about midnight last Friday night, supposedly from heart disease. She
was buried yesterday beside the body of her husband. Esther Mitchell, who
attended, exhibited the first sign of emotion she has shown since her crime,
and it was believed that the hypnotic spell under which Esther
had been held by the elder woman was broken.
Suicide
was threatened by both women when first arrested and a close watch kept over them to prevent them
from carrying out their threats. Both expressed a desire to die frequently. Later,
however, officials have been off their guard by the changed demeanor of the women which is believed now to have only been a ruse to
secure the poison.
How the poison was smuggled in is a mystery. It is believed, however, the Esther Mitchell is in the secret. The closest kind of a watch is being kept upon her to prevent her following in the footsteps of her friend the mentor.
Chapter 29: Poison?
***


***
Newspaper Articles about Creffield & the Holy Rollers
1897-1903: B.C. (Before Creffield)
October to December 1903:Holy Rollers Burn Furniture & Pets
January to March, 1904: Holy Rollers Tarred and Feathered
April to June 1904: Holy Rollers are Committed to the Asylum
July 1904: Creffield is Found & Arrested
September 1904: Creffield's Trial
April 1906: Men are Gunning For Creffield
May 1906: Creffield is Murdered, Murderer is Considered a Hero
May 1906: Holy Rollers Found Starving Near Heceta Head
June 1906: George Mitchell's Trial Begins
July 1906: Hurt Testifies of Debauched Wife and Debased Sisters
July 1906: Esther Mitchell Kills Her Brother
August to October 1906: Seattle Prepares for another Big Trial
November 1906: Maud Hurt Creffield Commits Suicide
April 1909-August 1914: Esther Leaves the Asylum
1953 Stewart Holbrook's Murder Without Tears
1951Startling Detective Magazine, Nemesis of the Nudist High Priest
***
Chapters from
Holy Rollers: Murder & Madness in Oregon's Love Cult
Part 1: The Seduction
Chapter 1: Trust Me, Brothers And Sisters
(Life Before Creffield [B.C.])
Chapter 2: God, Save Us From Compromising Preachers
(Creffield's Preachings)
Chapter 3: The Flock
(Profiles of the Holy Rollers Were)
Chapter 4: The Holy Rollers
(Things Start to Get Wild on on Kiger Island)
Chapter 5: Housecleaning
(There's a Sacrificial Bonfire)
Chapter 6: Community Concerns
(Officers Visit)
Chapter 7: Esther, The Chosen One
(Creffield Plans to Marry 16-Year- Old)
Chapter 8: Tar and Feathers
(The Men of Corvallis Act)
Chapter 9: Sane People Don’t Go Bareheaded
(Holy Rollers are Committed to the Asylum)
Chapter 10: More Beast Than Man
( Creffield is Arrested)
Chapter 11: God Will Plead Creffield's Case
(Creffield in Court)
Chapter 12: Scandal
(Shocking Testimony at the Trial)
Chapter 13: Calm Before the Storm
(The Holy Rollers Resume their Lives)
Chapter 14: Giving Up The Ghost
(Men are Gunning for Creffield)
Part Two: The People V. Creffield
Chapter 16: The Widow Creffield
Chapter 19: An Inherited Streak of Insanity
Part Three: The Madness
Chapter 23: Seeking Reconciliation
Chapter 24: Another Holy Roller Page One Murder
Chapter 25: What Can Papa Do For You?
Chapter 26: Human Life is Too Cheap In This Community
Chapter 30: The Final Chapter
(What Happened to Everyone Afterwards)
The Epilogue
(Heaven's Gate)